What is a Cockroach?
Posted on May 19, 2010, under Uncategorized.
The word cockroach is a corruption of the Spanish cucaracha. The cockroach is recognized by a flattened oval body, long stringlike antennae, and a shining black or brown leathery integument. The head is held downward, and the mouthparts are pointed rearward instead of forward or downward as is the case in the majority of other insects. The male generally has two pairs of wings, unlike the female, who in some species, is wingless or has vestigial wings. The female generates eggs in egg cases (known as oothecae). These are occasionally held coming out from her body or can be held in protected areas. After the female deposits an egg case, the soft, white nymphs emerge. As their exoskeleton toughens, it turns brown in shade. The form and huge size (some species possess a wing span measurement of upwards of 12 cm [4.7 inches]) of cockroaches have become objects of interest in the biological laboratory.
The cockroach enjoys a warm, humid, dark living habitat and is usually found living in tropical or other mild areas. Only a small number of species have become pests. The insect inflicts damage upon more material than it eats and has a disgusting odour. The food preference of the roach, which is both plant and animal product, goes from food, paper, clothing, and books to dead insects, including bedbugs. Insecticides are taken in roach control.
The American cockroach (species Periplaneta americana) is 30 to 50 mm long (up to about 2 inches), reddish brown, and inhabits outdoors or in dark, heated indoor places (e.g., basements and furnace rooms). During adult life, generally about 1.5 years, the female deposits 50 or more oothecae, each possessing around 16 eggs that hatch after 45 days. Nymphal life lasts from 11 to 14 months. The American cockroach, originally from tropical and subtropical America, possesses well-developed wings. However, most species are often not gifted flyers.
The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common house pest and sometimes incorrectly thought of as a waterbug, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic area. The female creates the ootheca three days post mating and carries it for about 20 days. Because it is small (about 12 mm [less than 0.5 inch] long), this cockroach frequently can be introduced into houses in grocery bags and boxes; it has been taken throughout the world by ship. Three or more generations could live yearly. This cockroach, found in abundance in the water pipes of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City, became known as the Croton bug.
The brown-banded cockroach (Supella supellectilium) is similar to the German cockroach but is slightly smaller. The male has wholly developed wings and is brighter in colour than the female, whose wings are short and nonfunctional. Both sexes have two light-coloured bands along the back. The adult life span is generally about 200 days, and there may be two generations a year. Eggs are be left in clothes, wood molding, or cracks in the floor. With the invention of heated buildings this cockroach became established in cooler climates.
The Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is thought of as one of the most disgusting of household pests. It is oval, shiny black or dark brown, 25 to 30 mm (1 to 1.2 inches) long, with a life cycle like that of the American cockroach. The male has short, fully developed wings, while the female has vestigial wings. This cockroach has been distributed in vehicles of trade from its Asiatic origins to every temperate regions.
Wood roaches are wild pests. Parcoblatta pennsylvanica, the common wood cockroach, can be found below logs and stones in northern latitudes. The male and female are so varied in appearance that they were once seen as separate species. The male, 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1 inch) long, possesses wings that expand beyond the abdomen; the female is smaller and has much shorter wings. Cryptocercus punctulatus digests wood with the aid of certain protozoans in its digestive tract.
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